Just bought one and erm well I have problems.....

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GavTheMighty

New Member
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36
I do have problems but more to the point my Disco does too! I have a lot of dumb questions as I am totally new to Land Rover ownership and normally have german cars. Some of these questions really are dumb so I'm sorry in advance........

Right got a Disco 1 1997 128k miles 2.5 diesel (I assume that means its a TDI 300? Because of age?) I know dumb right lol. (AutoMatic forgot to add it earlier)

Right lets start with issues........

Vague steering car tends to want to fly off the road when I move lanes and the wheel is facing to the right when Im going straight lol....

Squeeking noise from the front I believe sounds like front right tyre could be wrong the sqeek is there when your going over 20 mph and goes away when you press the brake pedal?

I seem to have BFG All terrain 235/70/R16 tyers are these ****e? And would I be better off switching to a road tyre? since well I erm drive mostly on the road. :D Oh I dont even know what tyre pressure these take?

The Air condtioning pump has been removed from this car but all the other bits seem to be there......(I dunno?)

I noticed the MAF or Air flow meter as some call it was not plugged in and someone stuck a bit of paper there lol. Now since it didnt seem to effect the way the Disco drove can I assume this means the same thing that it means on other cars.......(That the MAF is buggered.)

The car seems to be running a little cool as in the bar doesnt go to halfway it stays halfway to halfway if you get me I'm guessing that isnt normal and I also noticed the fan kicks in when you start the car and seems to stay on the whole time I'm also guessing that isnt normal?

When I got home I could see coolant leaking below the engine also not a great start lol.

Erm on a more positive note it got me home and erm well it doesnt have any real rust yay!

Any advice/help appreciated and again sorry for being the new/nooby with no clue about Discos......
 
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Welcome to the forum fella, be warned you will be told to do a feckin search as many of the q's u ask are very common.

But as you're new heres a few pointers..



I do have problems but more to the point my Disco does too! I have a lot of dumb questions as I am totally new to Land Rover ownership and normally have german cars. Some of these questions really are dumb so I'm sorry in advance........

Right got a Disco 1 1997 128k miles 2.5 diesel (I assume that means its a TDI 300? Most probably Because of age?) I know dumb right lol. (AutoMatic forgot to add it earlier)

Right lets start with issues........

Vague steering car tends to want to fly off the road when I move lanes and the wheel is facing to the right when Im going straight lol....

Squeeking noise from the front I believe sounds like front right tyre could be wrong the sqeek is there when your going over 20 mph and goes away when you press the brake pedal?

I seem to have BFG All terrain 235/70/R16 tyers are these ****e? And would I be better off switching to a road tyre? since well I erm drive mostly on the road. :D Oh I dont even know what tyre pressure these take? great tyres.

The Air condtioning pump has been removed from this car but all the other bits seem to be there......(I dunno?)

I noticed the MAF or Air flow meter as some call it was not plugged in and someone stuck a bit of paper there lol. Now since it didnt seem to effect the way the Disco drove can I assume this means the same thing that it means on other cars.......(That the MAF is buggered.)

The car seems to be running a little cool as in the bar doesnt go to halfway it stays halfway to halfway if you get me I'm guessing that isnt normal and I also noticed the fan kicks in when you start the car and seems to stay on the whole time I'm also guessing that isnt normal? That is quite normal as they run cool as they are over cooled, and the fan is a viscous fan so runs all the time the engine runs.

When I got home I could see coolant leaking below the engine also not a great start lol. Nope

Erm on a more positive note it got me home and erm well it doesnt have any real rust yay! Have alook under the boot floor sound proofing and the inner wings...

Any advice/help appreciated and again sorry for being the new/nooby with no clue about Discos......
 
I do fecking search lol.

I never just dump questions sit here and wait for a miricle to come along I have searched every question I have asked but I like to get 1st, 2nd and even 3rd opinions. I explore every avenue and then based on how stupid I think you sound I decide if the information passed to me is worth using. :D

Sorry couldnt resist the above but yeah I am looking at everything I am asking and untill I can get to grips more with the car I will be taking it to a local Landie fix-er-upper tomorrow to look at the steering and coolant issue.

I like to do my own work but still nooby here and want to enjoy the car a little without flying off the road in a ball of flames! :)

Oh and then I will give some pics of the awesome mighty Betsy! yes I named her betsy (oh no he didnt.....)
 
The car seems to be running a little cool as in the bar doesnt go to halfway it stays halfway to halfway if you get me I'm guessing that isnt normal and I also noticed the fan kicks in when you start the car and seems to stay on the whole time I'm also guessing that isnt normal?

if the viscous has seized it'll run all the time, and shift air - which is bad

if it's working correctly it'll still spin but shift bugger all air - which is good

if you are brave you can try stopping the fan whilst it is moving using a finger you don't use often or a thin stick, newspaper etc
 
Ok thanks if I lose my finger though I will not be happy........hmmm wonder if I can convince the wife......yes dear just touch that please ( dont know how often I ask that) ;)
 
This heap of **** was indeed a private buy. Must have seen me coming eh> :frusty:

I blame my mate I based the buy it on what he always said about his Landie that they die from rust quicker than anything else, so I picked one that has hardly any rust just everything else is f**ked :)
 
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Nah that sounds far too easy! I like this one it might sound bad on paper but most things work anything electrical does it has cruise control and all that crap, The Auto box seems to change up and down ok, the body has hardly any rust and very few marks worst bit on body is front bumper isnt attached so well lol.

As for the things I listed well a coolant leak will hopefully turn out to be nothing major and the steering could be as simple as tracking, balance and tyre pressure or could be more sinister I don't really know as I have not had something like this to compare it to. :)

Those tyres look new by the way. So there is a positive! This model seems to have no sunroof or roofs which in my mind is good as they always bloody leak on all old cars.
 
check the panhard bushs , thats the big bar that connects to your steering box , see if they have play... check your track rod ends ....
 
Wondering steering could be bushes, or could be shock absorbers
Leaking coolant could be from the p-gasket behind the water pump
temp gauge should be half way up - could be viscous fan or thermostat removed
squeaking could be wheel bearing, could be auxilliary drive belt...do a search for penny trick
 
Right well I have to agree with various above the coolant leak seems to be coming from left of the alternator near the engine block.

And I thought thermostat when I first got it.

I also happen to think the squeek would be wheel bearing and now Im hearing a noise when I press the accelerator like a belt or pulley.
 
Well took it to Aylmer Motors dont know if anyone knows of them on here? So far P Gasket is one of the jobs few bits and bobs need to be replaced main problem or issue is he is thinks the head gasket might be an issue and will do a leak test. Also it just doesnt look like the belts have been doen so overall starting to look like I should panic and get ready to roll it off a cliff. :)
 
Na. Its all fixable.

Often with landies it sounds serious but it'll be fine with a lil tlc.

You can get a 300tdi engine for a couple of hundred quid, then you just need a few mates with knowledge and tools.
 
I'm newish to LR Disco ownership , I'm no mechanic but so far have managed to fix and repair everything myself with help from this forum and suppliers ! Parts are relatively inexpensive and second hand parts are plentyful !! I've had mine 4 years now (300tdi 1998) and have slowly but surely done all the work . Its just failed its MOT for the first time in my ownership (TRE's and brake flexy pipes) . I would'nt get rid of it for anything else at the mo !!
 
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